22 May 2013, 4:45 pm
Planning Minister Nick Boles said in a written ministerial statement that the Government accepted the majority of the review report's recommendation, with the exception of those on signposting best practice material produced by the planning sector and the immediate cancellation of out-of-date guidance.
The statement was published along with the Department for Communities and Local Government's (DCLG) response (11-page / 87KB PDF) to a consultation on the recommendations in Lord Taylor's report.
"Existing guidance is unwieldy in its current form and the review has recommended that it be shorter but retain key elements, and be more accessible to be useful to everyone using the planning system," Boles said.
He said that the Government accepted that the existing suite of planning guidance needs reform and consolidation and that it is "carefully considering the implementation of the review group's recommendations".
However, the DCLG said in its response that it believes that current guidance should remain in place until the new guidance suite is ready. "We consider this important to ensure that there is no gap or perceived gap in the provision of guidance," it said.
The Government announced in the 2013 Budget that it would publish "significantly reduced planning guidance" by the summer.
